Italian Aubergine Parmigiana Recipe

I love aubergine dishes and baked meals in the winter, so this Parmigiana recipe is just perfect for me. Be generous with the mozzarella and parmesan style cheese on it. I know many people you would only make this dish for special occasions, such as a family weekend lunch and serve it as a starter. For me, it works well as a normal day dinner accompanied by a salad.

Tips to make a good parmigiana recipe:

Always salt the aubergine and let it release its bitter water. You can always prepare it ahead and leave it on a tray in the fridge with some kitchen towel in between.

To fry the aubergine, the oil cannot be very hot. You will see when frying little bubbles on its surface, these are small water bubbles leaving the vegetable. That’s how you get a nice and crispy aubergine.

Aim for a golden brown when frying, overcooking the aubergine will make it taste bitter again.

Keep the tomato sauce simple, it takes not more than 12 minutes to prepare this simple tomato sauce. I use the same for other tomato pasta recipes, and then add different toppings to it. I stick to a brand of canned chopped tomatoes that I like, that way I always know what acidity I can count on and how much sugar to add to it. Always use olive oil to make the tomato sauce, it makes all the difference in taste and it helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes without having to add too much sugar afterwards. Also, do not skip the garlic and basil, these will give a very nice taste to the sauce.

I’m a cheese fan, and for me, this recipe calls for plenty of mozzarella, my trick is to cut it into small cubes and spread it evenly so that every bite has a piece of it.

If cooking the parmigiana from the fridge you might need to bake it for longer with the foil on. The centre should be hot when you get a golden cheesy crust on top.

Slice the aubergine lengthwise, sprinkle salt, and lay the slices on a tray with kitchen roll in between, leave it aside for half hour.

2

Meantime prepare the tomato sauce, heat up a saucepan with the olive oil and the two unpeeled garlic cloves mashed, when garlic has turned light brown add the canned tomatoes, 3 basil leaves and season with salt and pepper, cook on medium flame for 10 minutes, taste, if the tomato sauce is acidic add a pinch or 2 of sugar and cook for 2 minutes more.

3

Heat up a large pan with oil, pat dry the aubergine slices and coat them with flour, when the oil is hot fry them until golden brown on both sides when ready take the fried aubergine into a kitchen paper lined tray.

4

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas4. In a baking tray start building the parmigiana layers, first with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then aubergine followed by more tomato sauce, scattered mozzarella cubes, fresh basil leaves and a sprinkle of grated cheese, repeat this process until you use all the aubergine, finish with a more generous layer of mozzarella, tomato sauce and the cheese.

5

Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, remove foil and bake on grill setting for 5 more minutes or until golden.

Ingredients

2Aubergines

1Can chopped tomatoes

1Fresh Mozzrella diced

2Garlic cloves

2tbspExtra virgin olive oil

1Sprig Basil

50gVegetarian hard cheese grated (Parmesan Style)

50gFlour

Rapeseed oil to fry

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1

Slice the aubergine lengthwise, sprinkle salt, and lay the slices on a tray with kitchen roll in between, leave it aside for half hour.

2

Meantime prepare the tomato sauce, heat up a saucepan with the olive oil and the two unpeeled garlic cloves mashed, when garlic has turned light brown add the canned tomatoes, 3 basil leaves and season with salt and pepper, cook on medium flame for 10 minutes, taste, if the tomato sauce is acidic add a pinch or 2 of sugar and cook for 2 minutes more.

3

Heat up a large pan with oil, pat dry the aubergine slices and coat them with flour, when the oil is hot fry them until golden brown on both sides when ready take the fried aubergine into a kitchen paper lined tray.

4

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas4. In a baking tray start building the parmigiana layers, first with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then aubergine followed by more tomato sauce, scattered mozzarella cubes, fresh basil leaves and a sprinkle of grated cheese, repeat this process until you use all the aubergine, finish with a more generous layer of mozzarella, tomato sauce and the cheese.

5

Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, remove foil and bake on grill setting for 5 more minutes or until golden.

Meet Chef Andreia

Hi and Welcome to Dont ask 4 Salt blog, my name is Andreia and this is where I post my best vegetarian recipes and my favourite places to eat in London. Follow me on instagram and facebook to get more recipes…read more